Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic favors support for dialogue with Russia, she told the Associated Press agency in an interview.

Axar.az reports citing Associated Press.

Grabar-Kitarovic favored cooperation with Moscow and opposed attempts to isolate it. "We want to have a dialogue about common threats to our security," she said. "We have to work together."

Speaking about the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, Grabar-Kitarovic stated, "I’m really hopeful that the two state leaders will show enough ... responsibility for global stability and the trans-Atlantic relationship." She is confident that relations between the US and Russia are of utmost importance, including for the prevention of conflicts in the Balkan region.

Commenting on Trump’s criticism of some NATO member states for not spending enough money, in his opinion, to support the joint defense of the Alliance, the Croatian president noted, "It’s about his personality. I don’t take it against him."

"Certainly, it’s not fair that the United States is carrying the burden for the defense of Europe," Grabar-Kitarovic said. "We’re first and foremost responsible for our own security," the Croatian president added.

"Sports brings people together," Grabar-Kitarovic noted. "People in all of our countries are tired of ideological differences, of going back into the past all the time," she said.